Matt Greenblatt fishes near the take-off area during the opening minutes of Day One.
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Bernie Schultz casts to shallow cover.
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Alton Jones takes off from the back of a pocket.
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Hank Cherry casts to shallow cover.
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A big pelican swings through the anglers getting a close-up view of how to catch fish.
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Matt Reed fights his way through standing timber.
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Nearby Cliff Crochet fishes. The two share a friendly word then pass each other.
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Not long after, Matt Reed sets the hook.
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He pulls the fish to the top of the water..
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And keeps it there as he pulls it toward the boat.
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The largemouth wallows on top of the water,
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But eventually is pulled close enough to the boat,
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for Reed to jerk him toward his livewell.
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The fish makes a bend in its back and Reed follows with almost the same exact bend in his back.
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This was Reedâs third keeper of the morning. He had lost as many as five up to that point.
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It was also his largest at the time, forcing a noticeable sigh from the angler.
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With three fish in the boat, Reed is back at work.
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Bill Lowen hopes to flip a big limit from the acres and acres of flooded trees in Falcon.
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This fish would be his limit fish.
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The fish splashes across the waterâ¦
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as Lowen brings him to the opposite side of the boat.
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After one last splashâ¦
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Lowen gets ready to swing.
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The brings the fish over the gunwales.
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Lowen shrugs his shoulders saying âwhat happened to the big ones?â
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A moment later, he hooks up again.
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This 2-pound fish skitters across the water.
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As Lowen moves into position…
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…to swing him in the boat. Lowen released the keeper fish, saying âI donât remember seeing fish that small in practice.â
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Local commercial fishermen head to the bank for lunch after running their nets for the morning.
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Alton Jones works hard to cast his lures in the strong winds.
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His long cast, allows him to hook up.
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He quickly gets it to the front of the boat.
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Then pulls it aboard.
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The fish was in the 2-pound range and finished out Jonesâ limit.
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Jones was quickly back to work.
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The strong winds on Day One made it difficult for some anglers to get any distance with their offering.
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Jones pulls up to leave.
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Cliff Prince makes a long cast on his first spot on Day One of the Rigid Industries Falcon Slam. 39/64
Casey Scanlon and James Elam were sharing a spot early in the day. 40/64
Timmy Horton flips a drop bait into a tree. 41/64
Britt Myers was hitting several waypoints he had marked in practice.
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Jeremy Starks had two good fish in the livewell early in the day. 43/64
Starks stopped to re-tie before making another cast. 44/64
Britt Myers makes another move.
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Starks sets the hook on another bass. 46/64
Starks boats the fish while his Day One Marshal snaps a photo.
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Starks places his fourth fish of the day in the livewell.
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Starks heaves a cast with a Caroling rig. 49/64
A spectator found Starks fishing along the shoreline and followed him on an ATV. 50/64
Starks fights another fish to the boat.
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Starks was using a multitude of baits, including a crankbait. 52/64
Starks releases a short fish. 53/64
On the next cast, Starks boats a keeper. 54/64
Starks grabs his pliers to remove the hooks. 55/64
Falcon Lake is over 80,000 acres of water and offers a vast number of fishing locations to choose from.
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Kevin Hawk was one of several anglers that had chosen to fish shallow cover.
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Russ Lane was fishing shallow in the same area as Kevin Hawk.
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Not all the fishermen on the lake were fishing a tournament.
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Clark Reehm said he had one fish in the livewell over 8 pounds.
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Keith Combs fishes the lower end of the lake near Falcon Dam.
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Combs was sharing water with J Todd Tucker.
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Chip Porche makes a move away from the dam.
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Skeet Reese fishes Falcon Dam near the border crossing with Mexico.
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